This invention relates to metal/gas batteries.
Metal/gas batteries commonly comprise stacks of alternating pairs of metal and gas electrodes separated by electrolyte-saturated matrixes, all encased in a pressure vessel containing gas under pressure. Gas diffuses through a porous layer adjacent each electrode pair to reach the anode, where the discharge mode anode reaction occurs in equilibrium with the simultaneous discharge mode cathode reaction.
Metal/gas batteries, e.g., nickle/hydrogen batteries, having multi-cell arrays are described in Holleck U.S. Pat. No. 4,127,703, hereby incorporated by reference, and in Warnock U.S. Pat. No. 3,975,210. The Warnock patent discloses a pressure vessel containing a plurality of stacks of electrode pairs. Each stack of annular disc-shaped electrodes is completely encased in plastic, so that a common central channel is formed; inner Teflon windows in each stack provide for free gas and heat communication among all stacks. Stacks are electrically connected by means of contact points along the channel length.